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PubMed1983

"Company motivates the miserable": the impact of consensus information on help seeking for psychological problems.

Based on an attribution theory analysis, it was predicted that normal individuals (people who do not evidence a particular target problem) would be least motivated to seek help for a psychological problem when they believe that the problem is actuarially common (i.e., high consensus). Based on an analysis of how target problem people evaluate their psychological problem, however, it was predicted that such individuals (unlike normal individuals) should be maximally motivated to seek help when they believe that the problem is common. To test these predictions, target problem and normal individuals (high vs. average test anxious females) were given feedback that they possessed a problem (test anxiety). Individuals were then told that their problem was either common, uncommon, or given no consensus information. As predicted, the higher consensus information led to the least help-seeking behavior for the normal individuals and to the most help-seeking behavior for the target problem individuals.

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMed1985

The motivation to breastfeed: a fit to the opponent-process theory?

The opponent-process theory, a dynamic model of acquired motivation presented by Solomon and Corbit (1974), was applied to the process of breastfeeding. A modified form of the Nowlis Mood Adjective Checklist (MACL, Nowlis, 1965, 1970) and a discomfort measure were used in assessing through recall the affective course predicted by the theory. The data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and correlational procedures. Results were highly significant: Women who breastfed for relatively long periods recalled positive affective responses while the baby was at breast and a subsequent negative or dysphoric response. The additional characteristics of acquired motivation, habituation, and withdrawal, were also evidenced in the data. As a control for possible confounding demand characteristics inherent in the methodology, a sample of childless women was surveyed using an "as-if" form of the same questionnaire. Very little similarity to the breastfeeders was found in the pattern of responses yielded by this group. It was concluded that our major findings are quite likely free of influence from this source.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

A computer-based measure of resultant achievement motivation.

Three experiments were conducted to develop a computer-based measure of individual differences in resultant achievement motivation (RAM) on the basis of level-of-aspiration, achievement motivation, and dynamics-of-action theories. In Experiment 1, the number of atypical shifts and greater responsiveness to incentives on 21 trials with choices among easy, intermediate, and difficult levels of an achievement-oriented game were positively correlated and were found to differentiate the 62 subjects (31 men, 31 women) on the amount of time they spent at a nonachievement task (watching a color design) 1 week later. In Experiment 2, test-retest reliability was established with the use of 67 subjects (15 men, 52 women). Point and no-point trials were offered in blocks, with point trials first for half the subjects and no-point trials first for the other half. Reliability was higher for the atypical-shift measure than for the incentive-responsiveness measure and was higher when points were offered first. In Experiment 3, computer anxiety was manipulated by creating a simulated computer breakdown in the experimental condition. Fifty-nine subjects (13 men, 46 women) were randomly assigned to the experimental condition or to one of two control conditions (an interruption condition and a no-interruption condition). Subjects with low RAM, as demonstrated by a low number of typical shifts, took longer to choose the achievement-oriented task, as predicted by the dynamics-of-action theory. The difference was evident in all conditions and most striking in the computer-breakdown condition. A change of focus from atypical to typical shifts is discussed.

Achievement↗
PubMed1987

Use of the maximal-operant principle to motivate children's intrinsic interest.

The present research examined the hypothesis that in contrast to theory and research indicating that tangible reward decreases subsequent interest in enjoyable academic activities, rewards are perceived by adults as effective techniques to maximize long- and short-term subsequent interest for academic tasks of both high and low initial interest level. The results of our first three studies demonstrated that college students and parents view tangible reward as more effective than other less controlling techniques to enhance intrinsic motivation and value rewards more for intrinsically interesting academic behaviors in comparison with others (e.g., prosocial behaviors). Our fourth study supported the hypothesis that adults do not subscribe to the minimal-sufficiency analysis of increasing intrinsic motivation but prefer a maximal-operant principle in which the likelihood of producing long-term interest in academic tasks is assumed to vary positively with the size of a reward. Our fifth and sixth studies investigated illusory correlation as one mechanism that may perpetuate beliefs about the assumed positive relation between tangible reward and intrinsic interest in academic tasks.

Achievement↗
PubMed1988

Self-related problems beyond the self-concept: motivational consequences of discrepant self-guides.

This article considers emotional-motivational predispositions associated with self-beliefs other than the self-concept. Specifically, we examined the consequences of a chronic conflict between two valued selves. In two studies, we tested the hypothesis that people who possess conflicting standards or self-guides are vulnerable to a particular type of psychological discomfort. We found that subjects possessing discrepant self-guides experienced significantly more frequently the cluster of emotional-motivational problems predicted to be related to a chronic double approach-avoidance conflict (feeling muddled, indecisive, distractible, unsure of self or goals, rebellious, confused about identity) than did subjects without such a discrepancy. Evidence is presented that this specific relation is independent of self-concept-related beliefs and problems. However, evidence is also presented that self-guide-self-guide discrepancies influence the nature of the self-concept, which may reflect subjects' chronic difficulties with self-assessment along a dimension described by this type of discrepancy.

Conflict, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

Motivational basis of dissonance: the singular role of behavioral consequences.

This article provides the first empirical test of the idea that discrepancy is not needed in order to arouse cognitive dissonance. Dissonance was aroused when Ss felt responsible for some aversive consequence, regardless of whether their behavior was consistent (writing a proattitudinal essay) or inconsistent (a counterattitudinal essay) with beliefs. The data demonstrate that in both situations, dissonance is aroused. This result, based on the dissonance motivation model of Cooper and Fazio (1984), strongly suggests that the motivational basis for dissonance is the felt responsibility for aversive consequences. The theoretical implications of this outlook are explored, including a discussion of the many ways that it expands the applicability of dissonance theory.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Suspicion of ulterior motivation and the correspondence bias.

Three studies examined the hypothesis that when perceivers learn of the existence of multiple, plausibly rival motives for an actor's behavior, they are less likely to fall prey to the correspondence bias than when they learn of the existence of situational factors that may have constrained the actor's behavior. In the first 2 studies, Ss who learned that an actor was instructed to behave as he did drew inferences that corresponded to his behavior. In contrast, Ss who were led to suspect that an actor's behavior may have been motivated by a desire to ingratiate (Study 1), or by a desire to avoid an unwanted job (Study 2), resisted the correspondence bias. The 3rd study demonstrated that these differences were not due to a general unwillingness on the part of suspicious perceivers to make dispositional inferences. The implications that these results have for understanding attribution theory are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Motivated recruitment of autobiographical memories.

We hypothesized that people motivated to believe that they possess a given trait search for autobiographical memories that reflect that trait, so as to justify their desired self-view. We led subjects to believe that either extraversion or introversion was desirable, and obtained convergent evidence from open-ended memory-listing tasks as well as from reaction-time tasks measuring the speed with which memories could be generated that this manipulation enhanced the accessibility of memories reflecting the desired trait. If people rely on their memories to construct desired self-concepts, motivated changes in self-concepts should be constrained by the content of available memories. Our final study demonstrates such constraints.

Achievement↗
PubMed1992

Effects of fantasy contexts on children's learning and motivation: making learning more fun.

Two studies examined the effects of embedding instructional materials in relevant fantasy contexts on children's motivation and learning. In Study 1, Ss showed marked preferences for computer-based educational programs that involved fantasy elements. In Study 2, Ss worked with these programs for 5 hr. One program presented purely abstract problems. Others presented identical problems within fantasy contexts. Some Ss chose among 3 fantasies; others were assigned identical fantasies. Tests on the material occurred before, immediately after, and 2 weeks after the experimental sessions. Ss showed significantly greater learning and transfer in the fantasy than in the no-fantasy conditions. Having a choice of fantasies made no difference. Motivational and individualization strategies for enhancing interest and promoting learning are discussed.

Achievement↗
PubMed1992

Relationship between affect and memory: motivation-based selective generation.

Two experiments examined the influence of anger and retaliatory motivation on memory for negative material. In the 1st study, 60 male undergraduates memorized words with positive, negative, and neutral semantic connotations. It was found that angered men who expected to retaliate against their provocateur recalled more negative words than other words, and more than Ss in all other affect and evaluation conditions. Angered men in the nonretaliation condition displayed no differences in negative word recall. The 2nd experiment investigated memory for details of a provoking experience. Angered men who expected to retaliate more accurately recalled the details of their provocation, but whether they were given the retaliation information before or after provocation had no bearing on memory for these details. Results are discussed in terms of a motivation-based selective generation hypothesis for the relationship between anger and memory.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

What motivates children's behavior and emotion? Joint effects of perceived control and autonomy in the academic domain.

This study examined the contribution of perceived control and autonomy to children's self-reported behavior and emotion in the classroom (N = 246 children ages 8-10 years). Multiple regression analyses revealed unique effects of autonomy over and above the strong effects of perceived control. In addition, both sets of perceptions (and their interaction) were found to distinguish children who were active but emotionally disaffected from those who were active and emotionally positive. Specific predictions were also tested regarding the effects of (a) control attributions to 5 causes and (b) 4 reasons for task involvement that differed in degree of autonomy on children's active (vs. passive) behavior and 4 kinds of emotions: boredom, distress, anger, and positive emotions. Implications of the findings for theories of children's motivation are discussed, as well as for diagnostic strategies to identify children at risk for motivational problems

Achievement↗
PubMed1997

When expectancy meets desire: motivational effects in reconstructive memory.

Two studies investigated the effects of motivational factors on expectancy use in reconstructive memory. Participants were given target's midterm grades for later recall; expectancies about the target's future performance were then manipulated. Participants' desires to see their expectancies confirmed were manipulated by making the target likable or unlikable. The authors hypothesized that when expectancy and liking "matched," participants would give significant weight to their expectancies at retrieval, resulting in expectancy-congruent distortion of the midterm grades. However, when expectancy and liking were "mismatched," expectancies would be discontinued, and participants would show little or no expectancy-congruent distortion. Results supported these predictions. Study 2 varied the order of the expectancy and liking information. Order affected the process by which mismatch participants discounted their expectancies. Results demonstrate that motivations not only may bias memory search but also may affect the reconstruction of existing memory traces.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1997

Brief encounters ending in estrangement: motivated language use and interpersonal rapport in the question-answer paradigm.

Three experiments explored need-for-for-closure effects in the question-answer paradigm. In experiment 1, participants under high (vs. low) need for closure selected more abstract interview questions. In Experiments 2 and 3, such questions elicited more abstract answers--answers that casually implicated the object (vs. the subject) of the sentence and that prompted a less positive perceived rapport between the interviewer and the interviewee. These findings are discussed in reference to the role of motivation in language and the possible interpersonal consequences of motivated language use.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Motivated language use in intergroup contexts: need-for-closure effects on the linguistic intergroup bias.

Two experiments examined the impact of the motivation for cognitive closure on the abstractness of linguistic communications in intergroup contexts. Participants described positive and negative behaviors attributed to either an in-group or an out-group member. Individuals high (vs. low) in need for closure exhibited greater linguistic abstraction when describing positive behaviors of in-group members and negative behaviors of out-group members. These differences disappeared for descriptions of negative behaviors of out-group members. The discussion relates these results to the interface of motivation, language, and social cognition.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Avoidance achievement motivation: a personal goals analysis.

The present research investigated one antecedent and various consequences of pursuing avoidance personal achievement goals over the course of a semester. The authors assessed participants' achievement-relevant goals using the newly devised Achievement Goals Questionnaire. The motive to avoid failure, assessed with self-report and projective measures, was established as an antecedent of avoidance goal pursuit. Avoidance regulation was shown to have deleterious consequences for a host of achievement-relevant and general well-being outcomes at the end of the semester, including longitudinal change in subjective well-being. Perceived competence was validated as a mediator of the direct relationships observed. The results highlight the need to attend to avoidance, as well as approach, forms of self-regulation and the need to consider both motive disposition and goal constructs in accounting for competence-relevant behavior.

Achievement↗
PubMed1998

Integrating cognitive and motivational factors in depression: initial tests of a goal-orientation approach.

Attempts to predict depression from a strictly cognitive perspective have met with limited success. A goal-orientation model is proposed that integrates motivational and cognitive factors in attempting to explain and predict depression. The model proposes that people differ in their goal orientation, with some people being more validation seeking (VS) and others being more growth seeking (GS). The model predicts that compared with GS persons, VS persons will show greater anxiety in anticipation of a stressful event and greater self-esteem loss, task disengagement, and depression after a negative event. A goal-orientation measure was developed (Study 1), and the predictive validity of the model was tested (Studies 2-5). Findings suggest that the explanatory and predictive power of the cognitive theories can be enhanced, and the arsenal of the cognitive therapist enlarged, by integrating motivational and cognitive approaches to depression.

Cognition↗
PubMed1998

Praise for intelligence can undermine children's motivation and performance.

Praise for ability is commonly considered to have beneficial effects on motivation. Contrary to this popular belief, six studies demonstrated that praise for intelligence had more negative consequences for students' achievement motivation than praise for effort. Fifth graders praised for intelligence were found to care more about performance goals relative to learning goals than children praised for effort. After failure, they also displayed less task persistence, less task enjoyment, more low-ability attributions, and worse task performance than children praised for effort. Finally, children praised for intelligence described it as a fixed trait more than children praised for hard work, who believed it to be subject to improvement. These findings have important implications for how achievement is best encouraged, as well as for more theoretical issues, such as the potential cost of performance goals and the socialization of contingent self-worth.

Achievement↗
PubMed2000

Influence of social motives on integrative negotiation: a meta-analytic review and test of two theories.

A meta-analysis of 28 studies examined support for the Theory of Cooperation and Competition (M. Deutsch, 1973) and Dual Concern Theory (D. G. Pruitt & J. Z. Rubin, 1986). Effects of social motive (prosocial vs. egoistic) and resistance to yielding (high vs. low vs. unknown) on contenting, problem solving, and joint outcomes were examined. Consistent with Dual Concern Theory, results showed that negotiators were less contentious, engaged in more problem solving, and achieved higher joint outcomes when they had a prosocial rather than egoistic motive, but only when resistance to yielding was high (or unknown) rather than low. The authors also explored the moderating effects of study characteristics and found effects for participation inducement (class exercise, participant pool), for publication status, and for treatment of no-agreement dyads.

Humans↗